Harvest Moon - The Tale of Daisy Flowers
by AngryLadyKami
Summary: Daisy Flowers is sent into the world to take over a run down old farm in the hopes of creating some income to support her sick mother. What Daisy finds is a truckload of work, heartache and possibly love. When a dark menace threatens everything she has built, Daisy steels herself to face the odds and overcome.
1. Chapter 1 - Starting Things Wrong

**Hi All!**

 **A daring tail of farming, adventure and chickens!**

 **-Kami**

* * *

Chapter 1: Starting Things Wrong

"Shouldda stayed at an Inn." Daisy chastised no one in particular. She had no money for the Inn and now it was dark and the woods were closing in. The path was becoming more and more overgrown and the straps of the pack were digging into her shoulders.

The road had steadily been rising for the last mile, as the farmer had said it would. He had given her a ride in his cart as far as he could but turned off to a different village a few miles due north. Daisy took a moment to rest as the valley came into view. To her right in the distance a waterfall cascaded magnificently into the valley, or what she could see with the last remaining light.

If she hurried, she could make it to the village before the woods got too dark. Though her farm was probably much closer, Daisy hurried along the path as fast as she dared, increasingly aware of the night sounds all around her. It was not half a mile farther when she noticed the steady clip clip clip behind her. Though she could see nothing, something was following her. She sped up, stumbling down the mountain path, but whatever was following kept a steady pace behind her.

Suddenly it charged, and Daisy whirled to meet whatever it was, but the dark shape rammed into her. She landed heavily, only partially cushioned by her pack, and rolled twice before landing in an angry thicket. The shape trotted past her and came to a stop. When Daisy dared peek out of her tangled hair, she signed with relief.

A cow gazed at her nonchalantly, not even remotely apologetic. Daisy dusted herself off, her arms and legs stinging. She took a moment to glare at the cow, as much to inform the cow of her anger, as to give herself time to compose herself.

"Why are you all the way out here in the middle of nowhere anyway." She looked up and down the road into darkness but no sounds of pursuit followed. They were alone. Daisy sighed and removed the rope from her backpack. She crafted a noose and slug it over the cow's neck. The cheeky bovine didn't even complain, but stepped neatly into position behind Daisy and followed her down the road.

It was too dark to see almost, so Daisy fished the flashlight out of her bag. Not a mile further, a dilapidated sign pronounced the entrance to Eden farm. The paint was peeling, and a rough barricade had been erected to deter trespassers. It was too far to go to Town at this time. Eden would be only another three miles or so. She bumped the log barricade off and helped her new companion make it over the second wood log. The bessy complained briefly, but didn't have much else to offer.

Daisy could slowly hear the sound of rushing water as the path led them towards the river. While still a few miles from the waterfall, the river was fast and torrid. A series of three bridges anchored fast on the opposite ends as well as two reinforced islands.

The bridges seemed safe enough, and Daisy led the way across. Once across she endured the final hike toward the homestead. The original had burned down some time ago, but her father mentioned a newer, much smaller abode had taken its place.

Of course, that was ten years ago. The sight of the dilapidated old hut did nothing to inspire confidence in her once well thought out plan. Now all she wanted to do was head straight back up that mountain path, and find a train to civilization. She sighed. Well that wasn't an option anymore.

The barn had fallen down somewhat since the last tenants had left, and the main house was pretty scummy. Nevertheless Daisy ushered the cow into the house because at least it still had a roof. She cordoned off a section of the house with old broken furniture and led her companion to the makeshift stall. The last few days of winter were still cool so she lit a fire in the hearth, hopeful that the chimney was still intact.

In the flickering light of the fire, Daisy examined her injuries. Blood mingled with dust tracked down her knees and palms, and cuts cris crossed her arms. She was tempted to get a bucket and wash herself off, but had zero desire to stumble around in the dark. Her cheekbone also felt grazed and tender. Tired and resigned she unrolled her bedroll and curled up beside the fire.

It was the bessy who woke her the next morning and she opened her groggy eyes to the graying light of day through the windows. A light snow had settled over everything during the night, surprising this late in the season. It would be burned off by mid day she had no doubt but the chill remained. Her legs were black and blue from her fall but that didn't stop her from opting for shorts. The bathroom, while somewhat scummy still had a functional toilet, which she would have to clean sooner rather than later.

She took a bucket down to the river and scrubbed herself somewhat clean. Later she would rigg a functional shower. For now, she washed her hair and tied it neatly in a bun. Returning to the restless cow, who thankfully hadn't soiled her makeshift stall, Daisy took her outside. Grass had grown rampantly in what had once been the yard, and Daisy noticed an overrgrown veggitable patch nearby. Surprisingly several carrots, radishes, green bush beans and zucchini had overrun the patch and after daisy rooted out a bunch of carrots, was pleasantly surprised at the size of them. This would surely keep her for a few days if necessary.

She tied the cow to an abandoned fence post that had long ago lost its function, and let her graze. Returning to the homestead she took in her farm for the first time. The homestead area alone was a mess, overrun and run down. The barn was a hazard, the chicken coop a shambles, and junk seemed scattered around the yard. She entered her home and retrieved a pen and writing pad.

"Ho, the Farm." Daisy's head shot up at the sound. Who could that be? A man was waving from the broken gate between two short square columns on the path that lead up to her house. Upon seeing her, he let himself in and made his way to the house.

"Hello neighbor! you must be Daisy. The names Dunny. I'm a friend of your father." He shook her hand and smiled warmly. He was a spry older man with a wirey frame. On his head a cowboy had was perched and longish graying hair poked out from underneath. He had a matching grey mustache and short pointed beard. While there were clear signs of age, he carried himself as a younger man, and sported a long duster and well worn boots.

"Thought I saw some smoke coming from here this morning, but I figured you weren't going to be here until next week, so I came to check things out. Looks like you've got quite the haul ahead of you." Daisy looked around and nodded.

"Father didn't mention it would be such a mess."

"Heck, I don't remember it being a mess, and I've been here for over forty years." he scratched his ears thoughtfully. "Are you sure you want to do this by yourself? Seem like a pretty impossible task?"

"I don't really have much choice." Dunny's eyes clouded.

"I'm sorry to hear about your mom. She's a real fine lady. You let her know I hope she gets well soon."

"Thank you Dunny. Listen, while you're here, do you know if there's a general store around? I need to get a few things."

"Sure! right in town. Mind, they're closed on a Sunday Monday, so I'd get my shopping done today. I'm heading back if you'd like a ride? My buggy is just over the bridges."

"That'd be real nice, thank you. Mind if I bring a friend?"

"What friend is that." Dunny asked curiously, tugging at his beard.

Daisy went over to get her things and the cow, who had cleared the entire grass patch within reach of her leash.

"That looks like one of Jake's cows. Real escape artist that one." He lead them over the bridges to where two horses grazed passively.

"Why didn't you bring them over?" Daisy asked.

"well, I wasn't sure the bridges would hold. They look and feel solid enough, but if you look down near the water, the beams need replacing. Been here nearly fifty years. Might want to see to that once you get things going." Daisy nodded, and added it to the ever growing list.

The trip to town was shorter than Daisy thought, helped along by Dunny's funny tales of her father as a child, and the easy trot with which the horses moved.

The town itself however was not particularly inspiring and rather empty.

"is it usually this quiet?" She asked, untying cow from the back of the buggy and hitching her to the post in front of the general store.

"The town isn't doing too well Daisy. Today, the innkeeper and his son are leaving." he indicated the small gathering near a town square where some people were saying their goodbyes. The man and his buggy left, while Daisy was left wondering.

The general store was much smaller than Daisy expected and an elderly woman behind the counter greeted them as they came in.

"ooh oh ooooh! You must be Daisy! We've been so excited to meet you. My name is Hannah, and I run the general store with my husband. He's out of town at the moment visiting our grand kids. How is the Farm? You arrived yesterday?

"Dear lord its a mess." Dunny offered up.

"Oh no! Well what do you need, if there's anything here I don't have I can order it."

"Tools to start with. I also need some saplings if you have em, seeds, some food items. Do you deliver out that way?"

"Usually we do dear, but its just me here at the moment and I can't if I'm running the store."

Dunny spoke up. "You can use my buggy? I don't need it at all this week, and I live in town."

Daisy nodded, relieved. "I appreciate that Dunny, takes a load off my back."

Despite Daisy desperately trying to keep in budget, the costs of things she needed quickly added up. The beautiful set of tools she had her eye on were simply out of reach. Hannah found some older tools that would work well in the interim, but would need replacing before too long.

Daisy brought the giant roll of chicken wire over to the buggy and nearly dropped it.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?"

A man, with thick blond hair broad shoulders was casually untying the cow from the railing. He ignored her and continued with the knot.

"Excuse me, I'm talking to you."

He finally looked up at her and glared. "I'm retrieving my cow."

"Jake!" Dunny appeared behind them and loaded some packages onto the buggy.

"Whats happening Dunny?" The man broke into a broad smile as he shook the older man's hand.

"This is Daisy, Ed Flowers' daughter. She's going to be taking over the Flowers Ranch. Jake briefly nodded to her, but Daisy felt largely ignored. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks.

"Daisy ran into Belle last night on the road. Or rather Belle ran into Daisy." He barked a short laugh. Daisy had told him the story of what happened on the way to town, but it seemed less funny now.

"Jake runs the livestock store over yonder."

"Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday only. Well it was nice speaking to ya Dunny." he tipped his hat at the older gentleman and walked off with his cow.

"You're welcome..." Daisy muttered.

"Don't mind Jake. He doesn't like newcomers much but he'll come around eventually."

"Daisy dear," Daisy turned to Hannah who stood in the store holding a basket laden with goods.

"This is for you dear. Free of charge. We're all hoping you give it your best, this town needs some fighting spirit and that spirit is you. If you need anything please let us know." Daisy thanked her and was about to peek into the covered basket when Dunny interrupted. "We should swing by my place get some things for the horses if you're going to be using them for the week?"

Daisy nodded and climbed up onto the buggy.

* * *

Until next time!

-Kami


	2. Chapter 2 - Fixing Fixing Fixing

Hi All!

Chapter 2 is just a little more content. Enjoy!

-Kami

* * *

Chapter 2 - Fixing Fixing Fixing

The barn was cleaned and had fresh fodder, water and hay. Daisy wiped her brow as she took a breather. She felt disgusting. Having cleaned the murky trough, she was covered partly in dried slime and it was barely noon. Her water bottle was nearby and she took a swig and then threw the rest over her head. It wasn't particularly refreshing. She took it down to the river and refilled while splashing her face. The goddess was in full flood with the mountain ice melting and the water churned white and sparking beneath the falls. It was day four, and even though resources were dwindling, Daisy had managed to keep within her planned budget and things were slowly getting done. The veggie patch had been cleared of weeds, widened three fold, seeded and tended. The chicken coop had been rebuilt, cleaned and rewired. Even her dilapidated cottage had been cleaned and now resembled a somewhat respectable hovel. Once she had some chickens, at least she would have a food supply to keep her going. She would have to get a cow as well.

" !" Daisy looked up from the river to where the sound was coming from. Across the bridges a cow limped toward her. Daisy stood to get a better view and then sighed. It was Belle, again. Only this time she was limping. The cow reached her and butted her head against Daisy's chest.

"Belle? Really? Now I have to go see that insufferable man again." It was almost as if the man was incapable of locking his animal in. That or he had a fence jumping rope eating burglar cow on his hands. But that was just silly. Until Daisy took a hold of the rope end that hung around Belle's neck. It had been frayed or chewed through. Daisy reached down and pulled a tangle of wire gently off Belle's back leg. No wonder the poor dear was limping. What an silly cow. There was no way she could make her walk back to town now. She led the cow to the grassy area that had become her favorite munching ground. So that meant another thing to add to the list. So far she still needed to rebuild her house, clear till and sow all her fields, rebuild the broken bee hives and now deal with Jake. Again. For the fourth time. The first two he had told her to stop using the cow to garner praise. The third time he had simply ignored her until she left, sans cow.

She went to retrieve her water bottle and something caught her eye. At a curved part of the shore an item glittered.

"Orichalcum." Hanna said inspecting the bowling ball sized hunk. "At least I think so. You should ask Irene. The blacksmith."

"There's a blacksmith?" Daisy had asked surprised.

"There is now. There used to be a mine entrance on the western most part of your farm, but it closed in a cave- in a while back. Its not very big in any case. Well Irene is looking for some rare form of metal and heard that she might find it in this valley. So maybe she thought to ask you now that Flower Ranch has a new owner."

"Thank you, I'll ask." She pocketed the chunk.

"Hey, do you think its worth anything." Daisy sat on the bench of a thick wooden work table. Irene, with her fair complexion and long, straight black hair seemed out of place in a blacksmiths forge. Despite her delicate features, however, she wielded the hammer like a mythological god.

"Erm... yeah I could give you 1200 for it." She turned the metal over to inspect it.

"1200? For that?"

"Yeah, its fairly sizable too which is nice. Its not the greatest quality though."

"I'll take it." Irene disappeared and returned shortly with cash and another item. "Bought this a while ago but never really used it. Its yours if you bring me any other metals you find. I'm making somewhat of a study of the minerals hereabouts." She handed the box over to Daisy who looked inside. It was a gold-panner's kit.

"Thank you," Daisy said. "I certainly will."

She returned to the general store shortly after. It was time to purchase some supplies. The first project would be timber. This should be enough for a new barn, maybe some additional seeds.

"You know you can grow mushrooms right? On logs?" Hannah took her out back to where the larger items were kept in a yard. Some boxes were stacked under a tin roof shelter. "These each have ten logs to a box. You'd have to soak the logs every eight weeks or so for 24 hours. But other than that they take care of themselves pretty much if you leave em in a nice shady spot. I'd recommend about 5-10 boxes if you want to make some income. These boxes have been here a while, So I'd be willing to give them to you for 10 for 1. I have... lets see. 20 Boxes total. I have a pamphlet inside. Anyway, here's the lumber."

They chatted for a while before Daisy paid for the lumber, put in an order for honeybees and as a last minute decision bought the mushroom logs. It took a while for her to load all the things up and she knew she would have to make another trip the following day. Tired, she led the horses down the street to where Jake's store was located. It was a small brick building with several corrals behind the shop, as well as a small supply warehouse for feed etc.

She entered the shop, and was surprised all over again. Though she had been here several times now, she was always taken aback by how clean, and inviting the store was. There were all kinds of animal books as well as toys, food, necessities all organized around the store. the only unwelcoming part was the man behind the counter.

"Good afternoon."

He didn't even bother to look up. Daisy waited what she felt was an appropriate amount of time, before her anger nearly peaked. She took a moment to calm herself and picked up a small shopping basket. In it she added some animal antiseptic as well as various feed items. A book on cows was added to the basket as well as one on beekeeping, livestock rearing and one of the thick farm catalogs on livestock and equipment. She flipped through them until she found what she was looking for.

Then instead of paying for her items, she walked out the door. She loaded the basket onto the back of the buggy and climbed up.

"And when were you planning to pay for those?" Daisy turned to face Jake as he watched her from the top step of his shop's porch. He leaned nonchalantly on a support beam and looked way too handsome and tall.

"Oh these? I'm not paying for these." She made to leave, but Jake was suddenly in front of her. He took a hold of the horses reins and held them down with a scowl.

"See, in this town, the custom is to pay for items." He explained as if she were a small child.

"Oh really?" She sweetened her tone. "But you see, where I'm from it is customary for people to take care of their animals and be polite to neighbors. These supplies here? They're for the cow that is once again on my property, bleeding from her leg. This book? This is so that I can now take care of my new cow. This milker is so that I can milk her, because she is clearly in need of it, and the rest of these are so that I can free her of the bugs she's picked up during her escapades in the wild. And this? This is the picture of the chickens you are going to order me 25 of. And one rooster. And the appropriate amount of chicken feed and a book on chickens. Have I made myself clear?"

Jake had been watching her during this time without saying a word. Then with what could almost be a twinkle in his eye he let go of the horse reins. "You're right."

This snapped Daisy out of her reverie. Did he just agree with her? Had he just GIVEN her a cow? Jake stroked the horses neck and patted it absently. "Belle is yours. And keep the basket, you're going to need that."

"Well.. thank you." Daisy admitted grudgingly. This was going better than planned.

"That is, if you can keep her."

"What?"

"You heard me. If you can keep Belle for one week, she's yours. You can even keep the basket of shoplifted items. But if I deliver twenty six chickens on Monday and she isn't there, I'm going to add her price to your bill. And those items. And any of her subsequent medical bills."

Daisy lifted her head defiantly, "Deal. Now if you'll excuse me."

Jake tipped his hat to her.

* * *

Seven days. It had taken her exactly seven days to get injured. Oh she'd had bumps and scrapes and bruises before, but this was... pretty painful. Daisy contemplated her life for an hour and a half as she lay stuck beneath a pile of what used to be her house. She didn't feel like anything life threatening had occurred, but she was most definitely pinned down. If something serious had happened she wouldn't even have been able to free herself! A heavy wooden beam lay across her hip and rubble lay across her legs. Her ankle throbbed painfully.

Well this was awkward. Now what? She looked around her house for the umpteenth time wondering what had happened. She had been sleeping, as she usually did at night. And there had been a shaking, and rumbling. and then she was pinned to the floor.

For one second she thought of calling Belle for help, but the cow was locked in the barn for the night. Never mind that it was unlikely that a cow would come to her rescue. It was still night, and that was going to be the case for a while, so Daisy resigned herself to sleep dreaming about why the toilet was the only thing to survive.

It was around noon when Daisy awoke, she knew, because there was no ceiling and the sun shone weakly down at her. Belle's fat face hovered near hers curiously. The cow had taken two steps up the porch to peer into the house. Before she could leave, Daisy grabbed her harness.

"I saved you now its your turn. PULL YOU TUBBY COW." Thought Belle was stubborn and could never take directions, it must be said that she came through in a pinch, and pulled as best she could to get Daisy out. As the rubble shifted, Daisy could wiggle free. The cow pulled her down the steps to freedom. Unfortunately she also pulled Daisy's very swollen and tender ankle down the stairs. As it banged down on the hard packed earth, Daisy felt a shock of pain race through her and promptly blacked out. Belle sniffed her just to make sure she was alive before heading off to that green patch she had spotted yesterday.

* * *

"Hey. Are you alive?"

Daisy blinked what felt like sand from her eyes. The sky was graying, and clouds boiled up above.

"Oh you are alive, that's good. Wouldn't want to have to settle my bill with your dad or anything."

Slowly her eyes came into focus and Jake swam into view.

"Hi there, can you sit up?" Daisy sat up slowly and held a hand to her pounding head.

"What?"

"How many fingers?"

"Three." She croaked, her throat dry.

"Great. The good news, you can count. You can also keep Belle, and you have 26 new chickens."

"Whats the bad news?" She asked before she could stop herself.

"You have no house, you were nearly buried alive, and you might have to sleep with those chickens." Daisy turned to look at her house. It really was a mess. The toilet was intact though! Whether pathetic or funny, this comment made her burst into tears. She tried to brush them off a minute later angry at herself. It was her ankle however that was the worst news, and when she tried to stand on it a minute later, she fell back against where Jake was crouching. Instinctively she clutched at it, but that too was painful. Jake pulled the sock aside gently, and eased it off her foot. It was already swollen magnificently and a delightful aray of colours. A cut on the top still bled sluggishly amid a swelling the size of a small ball. She drew in a breath at the sight.

Before she could say anything, Jake took her arms and looped them around his neck. Despite her protestations, he swung her up into his arms and carried her to the river. There he set her down gently and helped her ease her foot into the cold water. The relief was nearly instant.

"Feel better?" He asked getting back up.

Daisy nodded. It took her a moment to realize that she was still in her boxer shorts and tank top night clothes. She felt color rush to her face but luckily Jake wasn't there to see it.

"Do you have any first aid stuff?" He called heading to her rubble. Her house was now her rubble. Daisy sighed. "There's a basket of stuff", she said trying to clear her head. Jake's response was a small wave that he understood. She took the moment take in all her other bruises and scrapes, and they were not pretty. Getting dragged out from under that had given her a multitude of scratches, splinters, and violent looking bruises. While Jake went back to the house, Daisy took a moment to peek under her shirt. No wonder it felt sore to breath. She had a long clear bruise line across one rib where something must have landed on her. Ouchies. She splashed herself with cool water and removed some of the bigger splinters. One toenail was missing and her foot was covered in dry blood. Daisy glared at the setback.

"Do you have any idea what caused it?" Jake sat back down beside her with the basket of stuff that Hannah had given her, and a small rag. He wiped her foot dry and gently probed for broken bones. Satisfied that this was just a very bad sprain, he applied the bruise balm and wrapped the ankle in an immobile position.

A rumble of thunder brought her back to reality and she tried to stand. "We need to get the chickens into the coop." She had prepared it ahead of time, so it was clean and ready. It was just a matter of schlepping the cages of chickens over behind the house. The chicken coop was pretty large, and could house around 100 chickens, each with their own sleeping compartment box. Now that it was fence housing was rewired, it was also safe from predators and gave them a contained area to run around in.

Jake brought his buggy over the river with the chickens and began releasing the chickens into the cages. Daisy took this time to hobble over to the rubble of her house and dig out some items. Now that it was going to rain, she would have to move her things to the barn. She also used the opportunity to use the toilet. What a relief!

The idea of spending the night in the barn did not sit well with her. For one, it was a small five stall was breaking apart and it smelled funny. She successfully herded Bella into a stall and Dunny's two horses took two others. Her stuff found the fourth empty stall, and she fished around in her backpack for her wallet. Jake came back, but to his surprise, he was leading his own horse into the Barn.

"Aren't you headed to town? You better hurry before the raid gets here."

"I'm not. I'm staying to make sure you and the animals are ok for the night." Though she should be flattered by his concern for their welfare, Daisy felt that it was just a bit aggravating to be clumped with the animals.

She slumped down in the fourth stall and watched as Jake settled his horse in the fifth. He disappeared again, and came back carrying a small chest. In it was a bedroll, that he unrolled and laid down next to hers.

"Wait, you're not sleeping in here."

"Well I'm not sleeping out there."

"I thought you'd be sleeping..." She trailed off but indicated the stall where his horse was housed.

"No thanks, I don't want to get trampled in my sleep."

"Fine." She grumbled angrily, trying not to make mountains out of molehills. Mostly though just because she had nothing to counter with. Her stomach grumbled loudly just then and she pushed it flat, trying to get it to shut up.

"When was the last time you ate?"

Daisy thought about it. "Yesterday evening?" She got up and returned shortly from the still in tact vegetable patch. "I have carrots and turnips" She said excitedly. Her mouth dropped from where Jake was setting up a gas burner. At his side were two pots of stew. Her mouth watered at the sight and her stomach rumbled pathetically.

"We can add those I guess." He said with a smirk.

"Where did you get that?"

"My mother made it. She always makes it for me when I head to Bluebell Village for livestock. Lucky for you, I was dropping off some chickens." He set a second pot of rice on the boiler and Daisy felt she would nearly pass out from hunger. When it was ready he dished up a healthy portion and handed it to her. After having survived a house cave in, it tasted great. After having had nothing to eat all day, it was amazing. After having spent the whole week eating turnips,carrots and instant noodles, nothing could ever compare ever again. She ate until she was full and suddenly couldn't remember the last time she had been full. The rains started up a steady beat on the tin roof.

"Drink lots of water too. You look a bit sunburned." He handed her a cantina of icy river water and she gulped it gratefully. Daisy settled back against her sleeping roll, and was asleep almost instantly.

It was the throbbing of her ankle that woke her hours later. Jake snored softly beside her but with his back to her. She rose quietly and made her way outside. The rains had cleared and the full moon bathed the night landscape in an icy blue haze. She hobbled down to the water and unwrapped the bandage from her foot. As the tight bandages came off, Daisy sank her foot into the icy water and the relief brought tears to her eyes. She let herself feel them, here alone in the icy dream world. The river swirled now as strong as ever, perhaps more so with the brief rain.

She cried for her mother and father, she cried for the unknown weariness she felt each day at having the world upon her shoulders. Mostly, however, she just cried cos her dang foot ached so. It was big and blue and bloated and the bandages had been too sat the for a good while once calm again. Exhaustion teased her but her foot was so sore. soon the icy water numbed her foot entirely which was bliss. It made her incredibly cold after a while, but she didn't dare take her foot out.

A warm jacket dropped around her shoulders and a body hunkered down next to her.

"You shouldn't do that for too long. Its good for the swelling but bad for blood flow."

Daisy's tears started up again at the thought of enduring her foot throbbing.

"Is it the pain? I have some painkillers." Daisy nodded from within the hood of her jacket, but didn't trust herself to speak. He took her arm and helped her back to the Barn. There he gave her some painkillers and heated up the bandages as best he could before bandaging the foot again. It took little for her to fall back asleep, this time wearing his jacket.

* * *

Ooooh Jake!

-Kami


	3. Chapter 3 - Getting On With It

Chapter 3 Yay!

-Kami

* * *

Chapter 3 Getting On With It

The morning was bright and clear when Daisy rose at six am. She always rose at six am. By the time Jake awoke, she had already fashioned herself two sturdy crutches, fed the chickens, checked for eggs, taken the horses out for feed. Belle had let herself out and was grazing, while Daisy tended to her leg and gave her a once over with a brush. When she turned around, she saw Jake hitching his horse to the cart and leave without a word.

"Thank you." she yelled after him. He didn't even deign to apologize. Daisy marveled at how rude he was, but he had helped her, and she couldn't fault him for that.

After lunch she finally managed to unearth the last of her things from underneath the rubble. The cottage had been threadbare at best when she arrived so nothing was really destroyed. She looked around, but Belle had disappeared. That was all she needed, to have to pay for one wayward cow. She shielded her eyes from the sun and looked around.

"Belle!" In the distance she heard an answering moo. She grabbed her crutches and headed down the path to her lower fields. She had cleared two of them with the help of Dunny's horses, but three other higher fields remained. The top fields wouldn't be much use for farming, so she planned on moving the beehives to one of them, and plant rows of trees for an orchard along the others. The last field at the very top she hadn't gotten a good look at. A large boulder covered the path and she needed to get the horses up there to move it.

Daisy wandered down the path to the closest field where a thick stump stood. It was a large stump spanning over ten feet in diameter. Now however the inside dropped into a black hole. Belle stood by the edge looking over. The edges of the stum were blackened, as if a bolt of lightning had singed a perfect hole in the middle of the stump.

Daisy leaned in closer, the endless tunnel of darkness. As she leaned in, the darkness welcomed her, drawing her in. A faint sound reached her ears, whistling? Laughter? She leaned in further, the silence echoing around her as the darkness gazed back,

"MOO!" Belle bellowed loudly, thumping her in the back. Daisy started violently and lost her footing. With an indelicate cry she fell in. The ground greeted her sooner than expected and she bounced slightly as she hit. Her ankle ached.

"OOOw! Stupid cow!" Daisy got up onto her good foot and tried to get her bearings. The tunnel was so dark. Above her, too far to climb, stood Belle gazing down at her. The sounds had disappeared for a moment, and only silence greeted her. Then the smallest of footsteps started towards her. Daisy gasped and took a step backwars. The hard wall of the tunnel firm behind her, offering no way out.

The footsteps were small, quiet, but coming ever closer. Daisy tried not to let the fear overwhelm her as her imagination ran wild.

"Well hulloh." A small voice piped up. It belonged to a equally small person. No, person wasn't right. As the figure stepped into what little light existed, Daisy could see that it was an elf. It wore red clothes with a pointy little red hat and pointy little black boots. that, and it had pointy little ears.

"What are you doing down here?" It asked her scratching its head.

Daisy had to release the breath she didn't know she was holding and gulp air into her lungs.

"Are you all right?" It asked again stepping up close and inspecting her. It looked up to where Belle was watching.

"Oh! You fell! One moment."

There was a weird feeling of being torn apart and put back together again. When Daisy opened her eyes again she was back above ground. Relieved she sank to her knees in the grass.

"Its been a long time since a human could see us." The elf sat perched on the edge of the stump. "Sorry about the stump. Alice had a nightmare and blew the top straight off it it seems. We really should close it so people and animals dont keep falling in."

"Who are you talking to?" A second elf popped into existence next to the first. This one dressed in plum purple. "Oh its a human! Woah!" She gazed around the farm. "Haven't been up here in a while. You've taken over the farm?"

"Oh! How did we not even notice? Alice?"

"Oh! What happened to your ankle?" The little elf disappeared and re-appeared beside Daisy's ankle. She prodded it with a small stick and Daisy winced.

"It got twisted when my house collapsed on me." Daisy said getting to her feet.

"Oooooh!" The two elves floated up into the air and inspected the ruins of the hut.

"Wait a second! Did that happen because of me?"

"YEAH! When you blew a hole in the trunk."

"Well thats no good. How's...wait whats your name?"

"Daisy, Flowers."

"Hi Daisy! I'm Alice and this is Aaron. Well how's Daisy going to run the farm without a farmhouse and a with a broken ankle?"

"We should fix that."

"We should fix that?"

"We should fix that!"

The two sprites flew into the air. The first clapped her hands loudly and like a clap of thunder it echoed off the mountains. What was left of her house dissappeared. The second elf mimmicked the first. When the second thunderstrike disappeared, the shamble one room hut had been replaced with a sizable three story house. The entire thing seemed to made of one piece of wood, accented by stone and metal where needed.

"Wow, thats huge!"

"Its the best I could do."

"Why'd you make it so big?"

"Big? It only has 9 Bedrooms, 10.5 baths with onsen, workshop, pantry, wood and stone storage and wood carving studio?"

"Thats very big."

"Oh. elves have big families. This seems quite small in comparison."

"You mean there's more than just you and Alice?

"Well, yes... sort of. Its kind of a long story. But they're sleeping."

"We're supposed to be the guardians of this land and its been empty for so long. Aaron and I are the only ones left."

"Well. I'm here now." Daisy smiled at them. "And I plan on making this the best dang farm in the whole county."

"Yippee."

"Hurray!"

"Well you can count on us Daisy! In fact." The little purple elf disappeared for a few moments, and reappeared soon after.

"I have some presents for you!" She handed Daisy a plain brown leather belt pouch..

"Oh! Me too!" Aaron disappeared with a pop.

"This is an elf pack! It can store many many things."

"Really? it looks like its just a regular purse."

"Well its not!" Alice huffed. "Its a special pouch. It can hold hundreds of things. Its a bit old thought. I might be able to make a new one but it'll take me a while."

Aaron re appeared.

"Here, this is for you." He dropped a box of tools at her feet.

"They look kind of old and stuff, but none of your human tools will be able to work as well as these. And if you get me some orichalchum ore, I can make you EVEN better ones!."

Daisy marveled at her luck. With these tools things would surely be much easier. The elves soon pleaded fatigue after having cast such big spells, and disappeared down the tree trunk.

With her crutches and carrying the box of tools, Daisy hobbled up to her new house.

It was beautifully crafted from wood, metal and stone, but at the same time lacked some finishing touches. The door, flowerpots, railings etc all had exquisitely intricate carved decorations but you could barely make them out from the monotony of the wood. It definitely lacked paint and the furniture looked exactly like the floor and walls.

"soon." Daisy smiled to herself.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed it!

-Kami


	4. Chapter 4 - Spring is Sprung

This is a long one! :D

-Kami

* * *

Chapter 4 Spring is Sprung

Daisy gazed up from where she was generously sewing grass seeds on the medium sized field next near the barn. She thought she had heard something.

"Daisy?"

"Over here Dunny." She hobbled back to where Dunny was standing with a tall redheaded woman.

"Ah! There you are. Heard your house collapsed! What on earth happened?"

"Oh you heard?"

"Yes, Jake just told me in town so I rushed right over."

"Oh, well yes. It did collapse a few days ago, but I've met some harvest sprites who helped me rebuild.

"Harvest sprites you say? Well well well! I didn't think any lived in this area. Certainly I've never seen one. Quite the lucky girl! Excellent woodcrafters they are. This house won't fall down in a hurry I'll tell you!"

"I'm Emma by the way." The redhead leaned in and shook Daisy's hand.

"Oh my appologies, Daisy this is Emma, she is the local shipping distributor for this region. Now that your farm is starting to look in somewhat better shape, she was asking about produce pick ups."

"I usually grab any shipments going out of town in the morning, and return by evening. There used to be a big shipping box at the entrance to your farm, but we had a look at it this morning and its in bad shape, you'd need a new one."

"Also, there's a Grand Bazaar happening the day after tomorrow in one of the neighbouring towns if you're interested."

Daisy invited them inside but they declined, having to run some errands but they promosed to pick her up before the Bazaar.

* * *

The day arrived bright and early and Daisy tended to some chores before getting changed into a bright yellow and white summer dress. With a matching umbrella, Daisy headed off to the gate to meet Dunny. It wasn't long until he arrived driving his buggy along to road. Up front he had old lady Hannah with him while several people sat in the back on hay bales.

Daisy greeted them warmly, and moved to the back of the buggy. A hand was extended to her and she looked up at the man grinning broadly at her. He had flyaway reddish blond hair and a happy demeanor. Daisy gratefully accepted his hand and stepped up into the back. The man sat back down on the hay bale, and next to him sat a big fat Bulldog. It watched her with a tilted head while drooling slightly from on side of his uneven mouth. His fangs protruded awkwardly. While he looked quite fearsome, his demeanor was actually pretty comic.

Daisy glanced over at the only other seat available and was surprised to see it was next to Jake. Daisy breathed an inward sigh of irritation. Dunny whipped the rains and the cart lurched suddenly and a moment of panic hit her as she felt herself tipping.

Inhumanly fast, Jake's hand snaked out and grabbed hers, pulling her to sit down beside him. There was little enough space on the hay bale with his broad shoulders taking it all up. Unable to scootch away, she resigned herself to a bumpy ride touching shoulders with a man who ignored her most of the way. "Thanks" she said quietly, but Jake pretended not to hear. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared away from her.

"So you're Daisy!" The handsome man across from her with the big smile patted his dog absently. "I'm Rod. And this is Bowser. I run an animal store in town. Cats, dogs, birds, rodents, reptiles. Anything you need."

"Oh, I was actually thinking of getting some working dogs. I had an accident recently, and I thought it might be a good idea to have someone who could get help if anything happened. Me being all alone on the farm for days on end."

"Yeah I could totally help you with that. I have a friend who is a breeder, we can see him at the bazaar and see if he has something you'd like." Daisy liked Rod, he was easy to chat with and a great listener. Jake on the other hand couldn't seem more disinterested in their conversation.

It took an hour to get there and Daisy breathed a sign of relief. After sitting next to Jake, smelling his unique Jake smell, Daisy was positively tingly. Soon, the festive banners and crowds of people enveloped them.

With a loud bark, Bowser bounded off the back of the wagon and dashed into the crowd. "BOWSER! Get back here!" Rod jumped off the wagon as it came to a halt and raced after his dog.

"Meet back here at 4!" Dunny yelled after him. While Dunny helped Hannah off the front of the wagon, Jake hopped off the back. Daisy was wondering what the best way to get off on her skirt and bad ankle when jake grasped her firmly around the waist and helped her down. Daisy couldn't help breathing in his scent as she braced herself against him. Then suddenly he was gone, moving away from her through the crowd.

"Daisy, Hannah and I have some things to look for, would you like to join us or go exploring?"

Daisy grinned and opened her parasol. "I'll be fine Dunny, there are a few things I'm looking for too."

It was the truth, but as the two disappeared, Daisy couldn't help feeling somewhat alone. It would be nice to have a friend at the farm sometime. Daisy dashed away the melancholy thought. it was silly to think like this when she had so much to do.

Daisy took up the purse and looked inside. She had counted the amount several times just to make sure, but it still seemed too little. It had helped to sell what orichalchum she found to Irene, but if she hadn't needed the money so badly, she would have loved to get Aaron to craft her a new set of tools.

Though, in all honesty the tools she currently had were the best. She could Fell a thick tree in two swings and reduce a trunk to firewood in one. The plow could dig up a whole field row and the watering can could sprinkle a large plot of land. It would save her huge amounts of time.

But for now she needed other things. Like seeds. It wouldn't do to live on turnips and carrots when she lived on a farm. There were five sections of the bazaar, each devoted to a theme. The first was Farm, the second livestock, followed by mining, crafts and lastly food. She wandered through several stalls until she found what she was looking for.

A kindly man behind the counter welcomed her and she purchased several fat bags of seed from him. It felt good to know that in her hands she held the future of her farm. There were tomato seeds, potato seeds, corn seeds, as well as herb seeds for her kitchen garden. There were grape seeds and daisy bought nearly a hundred tree saplings at discount. Peach trees, lemon trees, avocado, apple, orange, pear and plum Daisy checked off everything on her list. The man counted out his money and promised to deliver the items within a few days.

Daisy could feel someone watching her, but when she looked, there was only a man with a hat hurrying away from her. "Would you be interested in fertilizer or soil as well miss? My friend Gerald runs a stall about 15 stalls to your right. I'm certain he'd give you a discount if you told him Bertram recommended him." Daisy thanked him and did indeed purchase fertilizer and soil.

By noon, her ankle was beginning to ache something fierce, and she sat at one of the outdoor cafe's to have lunch. A man raced past distributing flyers for the home goods section and Daisy decided to head there next. She finally bought some necessities for her kitchen and home, a stove, refrigerator, coffee machine etc as well as bedding and other supplies to be delivered. It also seemed silly but on a whim she purchased a vase and table cloth, determined to make her home seem like home. The sales lady wrapped the items up and put them in a plastic bag for her.

From there on she went to the livestock area. She had no money for sheep right now but one day hoped to have some. They weren't something she could immediately make money on, so with a sigh she left the area. As she passed, a group of boys lounging by the pens whistled and caterwauled. Mortified, Daisy hid behind her umbrella, but to her horror they began following her.

She ducked quickly into a stall hoping to evade them, but almost immediately regretted her decision. A man stood next to a dirty counter having just kicked the dog lying on the floor.

"Sir!" she said outraged.

"Oh don't give me that. Lazy bitch hasn't moved all day. Worthless mutt."

A quick look at the dog told her she was in pain. it was strange, but the dog watched her as she came further into the store.

"How much for the dog?"

"The dog? I don't sell dogs, look around."

"50."

"100." the man said after a brief hesitation. He gave the dog a prod with his foot but she barely moved. She was a large dog, but lighter than Daisy imagined. Her fur was unwashed and she was fairly sure the dog had fleas and ticks and who knew what else but Daisy couldn't leave her there. Her abdomen heaved as if breathing was difficult. Before he could change his mind, Daisy left. Unfortunately the boys were still there, and as she emerged they burst into laughter.

It must be an awkward sight, a girl in a yellow sundress carrying a half dead giant hound while a plastic bag with protruding vase hung from her arms. She hurried away but they followed her again. Some of them started asking her questions and laughing, and Daisy spun around when she felt the back of her skirt lift.

"Stop it!" she continued on, near tears, when two familiar faces appeared. Jake's face was like a thunder cloud as he moved toward her, the crowd splitting instantly. Beside him, Rod stood tall and equally angry. He moved protectively in front of her. The boys behind her scattered and Rod whispered. "Are you all right?"

To be honest, her knees felt weak and the dog ever heavier in her arms. Rod took the dog from her and Jake took a hold of her upper arms and steered her to a nearby pick nick area. Dunny and Hannah waved to them, and Jake pointed out the spot next to them. "Sit" he instructed her, and gratefully she sank down, exhausted.

Rod lay the dog down beside them and grinned at Daisy. "If I'd known you wanted something cheaper, I could have found you a dog that wasn't half dead you know."

"I kind of... I couldn't leave her."

"Aye, I know the feeling." He patted Bowser who sat beside him drooling. The enormous bulldog looked positively tiny beside her new gal with her long limp legs, but nevertheless Bowser sniffed her with pity.

"Hey Jake, can you take a look?"

Jake sat down beside her, his lean frame taking up more space than it should be allowed to. He expertly examined the dog before giving them his advice. "Shes got fleas, and by the look of her a number of old scars and wounds. I think her back leg was broken and never healed properly. And she's pregnant. A week or three off."

"She's pregnant?" Daisy asked surprised.

"yeah, severely malnourished, which is why she's so thin." Dunny and Hannah leaned in listening intently. Rob took a canteen from Hannah's pick-nick basket and poured some water in the cup before offering it to her. The dog got lapped at the water gratefully. Daisy cooed at her gently while running a light hand across the dog's back.

"What are these ridges?" She asked looking at the hair on the dog's back that whirled in contradiction to the rest of her fur.

"Its a characteristic of the dog breed. I'd say this one is a mix though. Ridgeback and Southern Lion hunting dog. They make good guard dogs."

"How do you know so much?" Daisy asked curiously at Jake, who was inspecting the dog's teeth.

"Jake is a veterinarian Daisy. You didn't know?"

Daisy looked up in surprise. "No, I didn't. I just thought he ran the pet supply store."

"Oh he does, but there's a clinic attached. These days though, not much need."

"Well thats about to change, huh Daisy?" Rod grinned at her.

"I guess so."

"Are we all done here for the day?" Hannah asked after a moment.

"I actually still have to make a purchase. If you don't mind."

"Oh not at all. What is it you need?"

"A horse. I was going to get a plough horse for the fields, but then the elves gave me some fine tools. So now I just need a regular horse."

"Well take Jake with you," Hannah offered. "He knows someone who could help you out." Daisy was going to refuse, but nearby a man caught here eye. He turned away quickly but Daisy couldn't help feel something akin to fear.

And so it was that Daisy and Jake headed off to see Jake's friend who sold horses. Jake helped her pick out a young trained horse and managed to also haggle the price down significantly. As she led the horse out, Daisy smiled at Jake. "Thank you, I don't know much about horses and probably would have had to end up paying his asking price."

Jake nodded and turned away. "Wait, there's one more thing."

Jake turned back to look at her, and Daisy couldn't help but wonder why his face seemed a little red. "I'm looking for a wagon for myself." It was the last purchase order Daisy made, along with horse supplies for Dorothy the horse. It was dark when they got home and Daisy made a mental note to fix a light for the gate.

As they dropped Daisy off at her house, Rod volunteered to help her carry the dog, and volunteered Jake's help too. Daisy limped into the house, her ankle now on fire. When they got back to the house, Daisy gratefully sank into a chair.

"Ankle hurting?" Jake asked to Daisy's surprise.

"Yeah, its aching."

"Do you still have those painkillers I gave you?" He lifted her ankle gently onto a footstool and removed the shoe and sock. "Thats what I thought." He said annoyed. Her foot was like a giant balloon despite the coloring having normalized over the last few days.

"I didn't really have much choice," Daisy said defensively. "Farm doesn't keep itself."

Rod came in from putting her new horse in the barn and began making a makeshift dog bed in the corner of the living room. "I've given her some water, and and some food, but you're going to have to buy some dog food from Jake tomorrow."

"Yeah, I'll head into town tomorrow to pick it up."

"No, I'll bring it here."

"Its ok, my foot will be fine by tomorrow."

"Daisy you need to learn to take it easy. You're going to seriously hurt yourself. I'll be by in the morning with some dog supplies." Jake scowled at her before she could argue. Though grateful that he was willing to do this, she was nevertheless chastised by what he had said, and somewhat embarrassed at his unexpected attention of her.

"what are you going to name her?" Rod asked as he unpacked her tablecloth and vase onto the dining table.

"Mmmmm" Daisy thought about it. "Molly."

"Aww, that's cute. Almost as cute as Daisy." Rod winked at her before showing Molly some love.

Daisy blushed scarlet.

"Well we should get going." Jake said, as he plopped her painkillers on the table with a glass of water.

"Get some rest Daisy!" Rod said cheerfully as the two left.

Daisy locked the door and shut off the lights, barely able to get to bed before exhaustion took her. The next morning she woke to find Molly curled up on the floor at the foot of her bed. She gave the dog a pat but Molly barely twitched an ear and continued her rest.

In truth her ankle did seem a lot better but Daisy decided perhaps taking a day off wasn't a bad thing. On her front porch was a box of supplies from Jake with a note. Daisy wondered if she had slept through his visit or if he simply hadn't bothered to knock. An attached note promised to charge her an acceptable amount. Daisy didn't know whether to be annoyed or grateful.

In the box she found a big bag of dry dog food as well as a an automatic pet feeder and automatic watering station. It also contained a book on dog care some vitamins for Molly, a harness, leash, pet bed, pet blanket, shampoo, brush, collar and flea control medication. Right at the bottom of the box was a fair sized doggy chew toy that was also good for cleaning Molly's teeth.

As she finished setting up the feeders, she turned to see Molly had made it down from the third floor, albeit slowly. First things first. She took the dog outside and filled a bucket of water from the river. Using it she washed the dirt and fleas from the dog in an area where the shampoo wouldn't be washed down the river. Daisy was surprised to see that Molly didn't particularly object to being washed. Instead, the gentle ministrations seemed to calm her. Daisy wondered if anyone had ever treated her gently.

Daisy laughed as Molly shook herself vigorously when she was done. It was the first real signs of life she had seen from her new dog. As she fed the dog a vitamin and put the flea medication on her scruff, she was surprised to see that Molly's fur was more of a reddish tan colour than brown. Her bull face and floppy black ears and mouth complimented her heavy set shoulders and large paws. Once she was fed up decently, Molly would be quite a well built dog. If she stood shoulder to shoulder, Daisy didn't doubt for a second that the dog would be taller than her. Then again Daisy was only five five.

While Daisy fed the chickens and let Belle and her new horse Dorothy out, Molly followed behind docilely. She tilted her head this way and that and often flinched with Daisy made sudden movements, but Daisy always patted her gently on the head when she noticed.

"Ho the farm!" A voice called out, and Daisy came out from back to see who it was. It was the farmer from the previous day whom she had bought seeds from.

"Delivery for Miss Daisy Flowers" he said with a grin. "I actually thought it was a mistaken delivery until I recognized the order. Daisy Flowers?"

"I know, I know Bertram." Daisy smiled at the lifelong joke. "Da was always a bit eccentric."

"Well I've brough my friend's fertalizer delivery too, saved you some money." He handed her a wad of bills and Daisy instructed him to unload in the shed which he did.

The next day her appliances arrived, and after that her wagon and other home and farm deliveries. Some men came to fix her plumbing, her electricity and her telephone and TV a few days later. Her parents were the first person she called, to get an update on her moms condition.

The following day it rained, so she spend her time indoors fixing the shipping box. When she went to town the following day Molly decided to join and hopped aboard the wagon as if she had done it her whole life.

"Well now, doesn't she look much better?" Hanna remarked from the front of the general store. "Aye, amazing what a couple of days of food and rest can do." Daisy spoke as much about herself as about the dog.

"You ankle better too then?"

"Its getting there." She experimentally showed Hannah her improved range of motion.

"Well what can I get for you today?"

"Just some toiletries and food. Some painkillers and bruise balm if you have any. And something for sore muscles."

"You're not still eating easy cook noodles are you?"

"On occasion, but I try not to. I'm just so sick of carrots and turnips though. On the up side, I've seen some mushrooms beginning to sprout, and yesterday one of my chickens laid her first egg."

"Oh marvelous! you could sell those eggs to me you know. They don't even have to go into the shipping bin. Until theres too many of course."

"Oh do you sell paints Hannah? Been meaning to spruce up the place a bit."

"Oh that I do. I have a catalogue of colours if you want anything fancy but lets go check in the back."

"I'm just looking for some basic colours. Blue, black, white, yellow, red.

"Yes, here ya go. And the rollers and brushes are over there. Do you need a ladder too?"

Daisy nodded and selected her purchases and paid for them, before moving them to her wagon.

"Oh here let me take that." Rod surprised Daisy with a big smile. Taking the items from her he loaded them easily onto the back of the wagon. For a moment Daisy admired his strong back and arms. Then without warning Daisy thought about how Jake compared.

"I was just visiting with this girl here. Looks much better doesn't she?" Rod's musing broke her concentration. He was rubbing Molly's head and the dog looked almost as if she was smiling.

"Yeah she does. I think she likes the farm."

"Naw, she likes you. Look at her face. She thinks you're amazing. Well that makes two of us."

Rod grinned as Daisy blushed scarlet.

"Actually Daisy I need a bit of a favour."

Daisy took the way out gratefully. "What's up?"

"well usually I have a no return policy on the pets I sell, but the man who bought this cat just left her in front of my store and there's no way I'm going to sell to him again."

He held up a pet basket that Daisy hadn't noticed. Inside was an angry looking orange cat.

"I know you have a lot going on right now, but is there any way I could get you to take her? I'll give you food and supplies free of charge, but I'm going out of town for a few days and I can't keep her."

Daisy looked down at the angry looking cat. "I don't think she really likes me."

"Oh she doesn't like anyone. But she's a great mouser. She'll keep all the rats out of your chicken coop and barn. She's spayed and everything."

"Well. I can't really say no. I'm going to end up rescuing all the pets in town." She grinned and put the cat basket on her wagon, tying it securely with some rope. Gratefully Rod placed the basket of pet supplies up next to her other things. Molly inspected the cat cage gingerly and was hissed at. Nevertheless she seemed to shrug it off, and the cat too settled down.

"As thanks, I'd like to take you to dinner."

"Dinner?" Flustered, Daisy blushed her thoughts elsewhere. "You don't have to, its no trouble."

"But I'd like to." He grinned at her.

"I... all right."

"Great! Lets plan it when I get back into town."

"Ok."

Daisy looked up to see Jake watching her from the front of his store. She raised her hand to wave at him but he just went inside.

Slightly annoyed, Daisy headed home.

* * *

Until next time!

-Kami


	5. Chapter 5 - New Life

**Hi All!**

 **2 New Chapters, leave a review if you are enjoying it! :D**

 **-Kami**

* * *

Chapter 5 New Life

Daisy stood back and inspected her work. It had taken some time and pains but it was looking good. She had finally finished repairing the fence where her land bordered the main road. A sign, freshly crafted, painted and varnished against the weather read 'Flowers Farm' and underneath in smaller letters: 'Owner- Daisy Flowers.' The sign was blue with white lettering bordered in black, and the whole thing had a white and black molding. Small yellow and white flowers gave a homey detail. The sign itself was nailed to the archway that led to the ranch, and in an L shape on aither side of the arch was the first smattering of wildflowers whose seeds Daisy had planted in long planters amid neatly trimmed grass.

In front of the fence just off the road stood a large shipping box. It too was new and painted. One could lift the top of the box up and prop it with a small rod, but easier still was unhooking the inner latch and opening the front of the box like a door. A fat padlock kept it secure, and the inside was lined with a protective canvas sheet.

The painting on the house too was coming along. She had finished painting the roof red, the walls white and the flowerboxes window frames blue and lastly the door red. The railings on the porch were also painted and she still had to paint the window shutters with its delicate flower design. Inside the house it also looked a lot better.

Her beds now had proper mattress and bedding, and the windows had curtains. The kitchen table had a tablecloth and the vase on top held wildflowers every day. During winter she planned on making some cushions for the chairs and sofas. That was the plan anyway. She didn't yet know how to sew, but she was sure Hannah would have a book on it.

Her chickens had their first batch of eggs sold to Hannah that morning and Belle had received the milking she so desperately needed. Though Daisy had tried in the past, the stubborn cow just wouldn't give in. Now it seemed she had finally relented.

Daisy gathered up her paint supplies and tools and headed back to the farm. The paint cans swung lazily from the ladder until she stowed them back in the tool shed. Daisy looked around. It wasn't like Molly not to greet her, but the dog seemed to feel somewhat under the weather this morning.

"Molly!" she found the dog in the corner of the living room on her large dog bed, clearly giving birth.

"Oh no no no! you can't.. I don't know... aaahh!" Daisy quickly dialed Jake's shop but there was no answer so she dialed Hannah.

"General Store?"

"Hannah its Daisy.

"Oh hello Daisy, what can I do for you?"

"Molly is giving birth. I tried to call Jake but he isn't answering. She won't let me move her."

"Oh did you try calling Rod. Oh wait dear, I see them..." The phone went dead and Daisy headed back to where Molly was trying her hardest. She got a clean towel from the cupboard and hoped Jake would get there soon.

When he did, two puppies had been born already and the third was on its way. Jake fairly took over for them at that point, scooping up the puppies to make sure they were all right. The last puppy out was not breathing, but Jake diligently massaged it until it too squirmed in his hands. It started raining hard at that stage and Daisy quickly hurried out to get Jake's horse under cover in the barn, rubbing it dry before returning to the house. Jake lay on the floor watching the puppies, an almost childish expression on his face. He nudged each one onto a teat to make sure they were properly fed.

While he tended to them, Daisy cooked dinner, and for once Jake seemed open as he talked about the puppies and how to take care of them. He also talked briefly about his studies to become a vet and how over time the town had become smaller as more people began looking for greener pastures.

Diasy didn't even have to pretend to be interested. He spoke with such conviction that it was fun to just listen to his stories. Daisy wondered if he even knew that he was being so open with her.

As if to interrupt her reverie, a knock sounded at her door and Rod walked in carrying a box of items. "WHEW! Its raining puppies out there too!" He shook his head like a dog to get the water off. Without fuss he peeled off his shirt and wrung it out. Daisy blushed and muttered something about getting a towel. A blanket, Daisy decided. A blanket would be better. She gave him the large thin one and he wrapped it around himself while unclothing underneath. She pointed him to the dryer and he tossed his clothes in.

"Okay! lets see here." From the box he pulled an electric heated bed, as well as several small bottles, and a large tin of powder mix, a heating lamp and a scale. Jake helped Rod set up the pen area for the puppies and then weighed and logged their weight.

"Are you hungry Rod? We still have leftovers?" Rod peeled himself away from the puppies to munch on dinner while the rain outside got heavier. "I should check on the horses, I'll be right back. Daisy ran out into the rain and up to the barn. She checked in on each of the horses and Belle, making sure they were dry and well. After that it was the chickens and after that she headed down to make sure the trap door she had made for the stump was secure and the tunnels wouldn't flood. When she returned to the house, she too was well and truly soaked.

Rod met her at the door with a towel, and wrapped it around her shoulders, rubbing her arms with it.

"Thanks" Daisy said breathlessly trying not to look up at him when he was so close and wrapped only in a blanket. She hurried inside before something happened that shouldn't, and went upstairs for some clean clothes, missing the dark scowl on Jake's face.

Jake and Rod were clearly not going anywhere for the night, so she brought down some exra bedding and laid it out for them near the puppy bin. One side of the bin was heated while the other side wasn't, so the puppies could move out of the warmth if it got too hot.

"You don't have to sleep down here Daisy." Rod remarked as she joined them with her bedding on the living room floor. "We can keep watch tonight."

"Nah, I think I should watch and see how its done. After all you guys aren't going to be here every night. Right?" She laughed but Rod just winked at her. "You never know."

Despite having the intention of staying awake, after the first few hours, Daisy felt incredibly drowsy. Rain had always been her weakness and as it hammered rhythmically on her windowpanes, Daisy's head dropped onto her arms and she fell asleep.

When she awoke in the morning, it was to an ache in her hip and a not so clear picture of why she was sleeping on the floor. She rolled over and rubbed her eyes. Why hadn't she woken up at 6? She rubbed her eyes sleepily and the events of the previous day came back to her. Turning around she found Jake leaning up against a wall sleeping soundly.

Rob was feeding the puppies and put a finger to his lips with a glance at Jake. "He's been up all night with them, let him rest. Daisy nodded and got up to get dressed. The rain had passed and she went out to get some eggs for breakfast. The rooster strutted around the yard, but hadn't yet gotten the nerve to crow at dawn. He had his own house separate from the chickens, but Daisy wondered if she should just let him loose in the hen house for a while. At the moment however she was enjoying the income from the daily eggs.

Belle too had begun producing fine milk regularly and the added income was very welcome. Now however, Daisy was glad to get some fresh eggs and milk for breakfast, and together with some veggies from the garden cooked up a fine vegetable and cheese omlet. Rod ate ravenously but had to leave, leaving Daisy alone with a sleeping Jake.

He looked more at ease when he slept, Daisy thought as she covered him with a blanket and placed her pillow nearby. She fed the horses and chickens and returned to make sure the puppies were fed.

It was late afternoon when Jake woke up to the smell of coffee.

"Wakey wakey." Daisy smiled at him from the kitchen. "Got some coffee here for you if you're interested." She placed the mug on the kitchen table next to some lunch for him.

"I just fed them so they're ok." She said when Jake looked over at the puppy bin.

"I have to go water the fields, so I'll be back in a while. Would you mind watching them till then?"

Jake nodded sleepily and got up to stretch. As he did, his shirt rode up his hard flat stomach, and Daisy looked away quickly. "I'll... ah.. be right back then." She said veritably running from the house.

It took longer than she anticipated to get that done, but her fields were looking good. She planned to fertalize in the next week, but for now, the crops were already a foot high. As she headed home she could see Jake waiting on her porch. He attempted to pat Queenie, but the fat orange cat swiped at him until he gave up.

"Oh don't mind her. She'll ask for attention when she wants it but she won't have anything to do with you until then."

"I need to head back." Jake said getting up. "You need to bring them in for shots, but I'll send you a reminder then."

"Well... thank you for all your help. I appreciate it." Daisy was somewhat taken aback. The stoic man was back as if yesterday had never happened. Daisy wrapped her arms around herself as if to ward off a chill.

He nodded at her and led the horse that he'd already saddled away across the bridges.

Daisy sighed watching him go. "I wish he'd just..." she stopped unable to find the words. Queenie hissed at her sillyness and trotted down the steps and off to find some mice.

* * *

 **Until next time!**

 **-Kami**


	6. Chapter 6 - Keeping Up The Grind

Chapter 6 Keeping Up The Grind.

Daisy waved at Emma as the older woman headed back into town, gleefully happy. Her first real payday had come in and it was glorious. Her hard work had definitely paid off. The crop of fat potatoes, turnips, spinach, onions and carrots had been shipped off and she had been paid handsomely. A fat portion of the proceeds would be sent home to her parents and cover the cost of the farm. Luckily her farm was greatly self sufficient. The waterfall provided constant clean electricity, and the animals had plenty of feed. She had fresh veggies from the fields and fish from the river.

In another week or so she would have an excellent mushroom crop worth a pretty penny. It was time to make some upgrades starting with the manky old barn. She had invited pretty much everyone in town to the barn raising but it took her a while to adequately tear the original structure down. First she had to build a temporary shelter for the animals in case it rained. Then the area had to be cleared. As she was done however she noticed how open the area looked. It had always stood quite close to the homestead, but was actually a very ugly construction. As she gazed around it struck her that it would serve much better being on higher ground near the feed field.

The following week Dunny, Hannah, Emma, Jake, Rod, Irene and several friends and aquaintances descended on the Flowers Farm and marveled at the change. Gone was the delapidated hut and barn and the mess of a chicken coop. Gone was the raggedy vegitable patch and pile of junk littered about the yard. In its place stood an excellently maintained house with a lush new green front lawn accented with flowerbeds and white fences. In the back one could see the newly renovated chicken coup while a high and mighty cat sat ignoring the guests but enjoying the spectacular view across the valley. On the stepped mountain fields, fruit trees were lined in neat rows, and whole fields of crops swayed in the gentle summer breeze.

Guests came from far and wide bringing baskets of homemade goods, cakes and specialties. Dunny took charge of two firepits where succulent meats had been cooking for the last day and a half.

The men decided to split into four teams, and worked to raise the barn evenly. They worked quickly and in tandem without a fault. Soon the barn structure began to take shape. They even painted it when it was done and Daisy clapped her hands in delight. It was a far bigger barn structure than her previous one had been, but for good reason. The next bazaar was coming up and she wanted to buy some more animals. Jake had recommended sheep, Llamas, Alpacas and Jersey cows, but Daisy had her doubts.

She promised to have a look at them by the time the next bazaar rolled around but only if Jake came with her. The minute she had said it, it had sounded like a date, and Jake initially refused. She managed to convince him however since she had very little livestock experience and needed someone to look over her purchases.

After the barnraising, someone struck up a lively tune with a violin, which was soon joined by a pair of guitars and lively dancing ensued. Rod appeared from the throng and leaned against the fence next to her.

"We still haven't had that dinner date Daisy," he said smiling at her. Daisy looked at the ground, having to be completely honest with him. "I agreed to dinner, but I don't think we're ever going to be dating Rod." She looked up at him, but he didn't seem that upset. Instead he slung an arm around her shoulder and pulled her against his side.

"I understand." He glanced over to the dance floor where Jake stood talking to a pretty blond girl and Daisy followed his gaze. "I thought maybe you had other interests but I had to try. I still want dinner and at least one dance though." He grinned at her, unaware that Jake had caught sight of them.

"That I can promise you," Daisy said taking his offered hand as he led her to the dance floor. "You're a great guy, you know that?" She said as he twirled her on the dance floor. "I know. I'm a great dancer too, watch this." She giggled as he made a fool of himself on the dancefloor. People cheered and clapped.

After that, Rod had a parade of ladies bat their eyelashes at him, and Daisy bowed out. She was taking a breather by the punch bowl when Jake caught her eye. He was leaving already?

"Hey Jake!" She called out after him but either he didn't hear her or wasn't interested. She raced after him, but he was almost to the other side of the bridges by the time she caught up with him.

"Hey," she said breathlessly. "Didn't you hear me calling?"

"No, I have to go."

"Really? Already? But they've just started digging up the pits!"

He tipped his hat at her and kept walking.

"Ok, well... what time are you going to come by on Friday to head to the bazaar?"

"Yeah about that, something came up."

"Oh. Is everything all right?"

"Its fine, I just can't make it." Before she could say anything else he walked off.

She glanced back at the house where the party was still in full swing and signed. What had just happened?

"Miss Flowers?" A smoothe voice with a touch of drawl drew her attention. A man was crossing the second bridge from the house.

"Yes?" She asked curiously. Was this someone's guest?

"I just wanted to say what a marvelous job you've done with the farm. Why, I remember when your father's father worked this land." He stopped and leaned against the bridge, watching the water swirl away down into the valley.

"Thank you Mr...?"

"My apologies! Mr White is the name. Fact is, I own land east of here, just past Bluebell."

"Well its a pleasure to make your aquaintance Mr White."

Pearly white teeth flashed in the darkness.

"As it is mine. I must confess Ms Flowers. I do have an ulterior motive for these uncouth introductions. I heard your dear mother had taken ill, and money is an issue. Truth be told I have taken a liking to this part of Echo Valley and would like to make an offer on your farm."

"Thank you, but Flowers Farm is not for sale. I've just got it to a state where its finally coming together. Its just not something I'm interested in at the moment."

"I'm a very generous man Miss Flowers. I will pay you twice the farms worth."

Daisy considered it. Truth be told they had thought about selling the farm. The land was so remote that it wouldn't have fetched much of a price and so had decided that it would be better to work the land for money. Twice was very very generous. But she would be disappointing Dunny and Hannah and the other towns people. Also, there was something that bothered her about this man.

"We had thought about it Mr White. On more than one occasion. And yes you are very generous..."

"Excellent!"

"Don't missunderstand, I'm not interested in selling, but I appreciate the offer."

"Miss Flowers, a farm is no place for a lady, especially one so beautiful as yourself." He ran an idle finger from her shoulder down to her elbow, and Daisy shuddered at the touch. "I could make you a wealthy woman. You wouldn't have to worry about medical expenses or making ends meet. Does the life of leasure not appeal to you?"

"I would be a liar to say it didn't. But its not going to happen. Good evening Mr White." She moved past him, but his words stopped her.

"We will speak again Miss Flowers. Next time I expect a more favourable answer." He walked slowly away from her farm, his boots ringing dully on the bridge planks until they faded into darkness.

"Who was that?" Daisy started as Rod appeared on the bridge. She hadn't even noticed him.

"Are you all right? You're shaking"

"I'm just a bit cold." Daisy rubbed her upper body for warmth, but it was the stranger's words that chilled her the most.

"Yeah it is a bit chilly tonight. Here, wear this until you can get one from the house." He draped his jacked around her, and even though it warmed her body, a small part of her was still frozen in apprehension.

"I'm glad you invited me Daisy. I don't have many friends in this town and its nice to get out on occasion." Irene combed one finger through her straight black hair. It was the first time Daisy saw her without her blacksmith's apron on.

"Its a pleasure Irene. I've only been to the bazaar once to be honest and I didn't want to go alone."

"Did something happen?" She asked, her brown eyes watching Daisy as she guited the wagon.

"There were some guys there last time. I had a bit of unwanted attention."

"Oh yes, Rod told me about it. He said you looked pretty as a picture. Jake said you had no business going to the livestock area without an escort."

"Jake said that?" Daisy marveled.

"Yeah, so what happened?"

"Oh it was nothing, they were following me and whistling. I think one tried to look up my skirt. It might have been my imagination though. I think I was overreacting."

"Rod said he was furious, but don't worry, I'll keep you safe for him." There was something a little sad in the way she said it.

"Oh no, Rod and I aren't together."

"You aren't?" Irene looked hopeful.

"No, he asked but I..."

"Oh." Her eyes widened "OH! JAKE!"

"What? NO!" Daisy said it slightly louder than she had intended. "Haha, oh look we're here." She quickly changed the subject. "We should go look for those things we were looking for!"

The fair was as it had been before, if slightly overcast. Daisy helped Irene find the things she was looking for as well as go shopping for her own things. They had lunch before heading to the home store, where Daisy found a used book stall. Even though she hadn't intended to buy books, she decided that it was an investment in her own education. She bought a book on beekeeping, one on knitting, one on sheep, llamas, alpacas, cows, chickens, gardening, crops, mushrooms, fruit trees and anything else that she could use on her farm. One book even contained carpentry tips and blueprints as well as farm machinery.

"You know, I was planning to get a lot of livestock today, but Jake was going to help me."

"He couldn't make it?"

"Well, he... I don't know, he just suddenly cancelled on me. So I'm picking out livestock that I have no idea about."

"Strange that he would leave you in the lurch like that."

"Yeah, I thought he was a nice guy. I mean. He has done nice things, but right now he's acting like a real jerk. I was kind of looking forward to it."

"I don't think he treats anyone in town the way he treats you to be honest." Irene locked her purchases in the trunk at the back of the waggon before they headed to the livestock area.

"So he hates me."

"I don't think he hates you..."

"Argh! Forget about him. I'm going to go ahead and buy livestock and they will be great livestock and I will... never speak to him again."

"Aha ok thats probably not going to happen."

They arrived at the sheep pen, and were given a form with the livestock numbers on them. As Daisy and Irene went through the pen inspecting sheep, they wrote down the numbers and went to the dealer. He was a big built man, who watched them while leaning against the fence.

"We don't sell to women." He said spitting on the ground.

Anger welled up inside her but Irene dragged her away. "There are other pens, we don't want to give this guy the business." But at the other pens, they were also turned away, always with a fearful look and quick apology.

"What is going on?" Irene asked now as angry as Daisy.

Daisy glanced around the yard and caught sight of a familiar figure.

"Mr White," she said through gritted teeth. "I'd hate to think you had something to do with this?"

"Having some trouble Miss Flowers? Farming can be difficult for a woman." A group of men surrounded them, and Daisy felt hands grip her upper arms roughly. A voice whispered in her ear. "Give the man what he wants Flowers." She struggled and eventually broke free.

"I will not sell my farm to you, and I will not be bullied by you." She glared at Mr White.

"Bullied is such a strong word. I prefer cooperative coercion."

The man behind her sniffed her hair and the men around them laughed. Suddenly the man went flying and an array of red and blue and purple ponchos overwhelmed them.

"Oh so sorry. No mean to bump you." A flurry of red attempted to help them man up but just succeeded in knocking the others to the ground. Mr White barely avoided getting hit in the head by the brim of a large purple hat. When the whirl of colours were gone so were the girls. Mr White frowned darkly and signalled his men as they left.

"Thank you so much." Daisy said sitting down on a haybale in the big red tent. A man with a big black mustach and red poncho took off his hat while blue poncho poured them a cup of something sweet.

"Applejuice." She said surprised.

"Yes! Lots of sugar for nerves. I am Raul. Dis my brothers Enrique and Diego."

"Its a pleasure. I am Irene, and this is my friend Daisy."

"Ah Daisy has angered that man. He is very powerful." Enrique said with a nod to Diego.

"Yes, very many animals."

"Great, so we won't be able to buy anything else here today."

"No no no! Is not true."

"Enrique is right, we sell many animals. We don't have fright from that man."

Daisy stood up and set down her cup. "You sell sheep?"

"Oh yes! come have look."

Diego led them to the pens on the other side of the tent. There were many many sheep, and cows and different types of animals.

"This one is very special." He showed her a brown and white spotted jersey cow and patted her fat rump. She looked well fed and in good condition. "We also have some goats. Anything you need."

When they finally left the fair it was with the fat jersey cow in tow, ten sheep loaded onto the back of the wagon, as well as a black kidd. Walking alongside the cow were two Llamas and two alpacas and a large black yak. On the seat beside the two girls was a box of twenty five screaming Silkie Chicks.

"I think we did all right," Irene said looking back at the animals trailing behind them.

"Yeah." Though no one had given her any more trouble at the bazaar, Daisy was starting to think more trouble would lie ahead.

When she got home, she invited Irene to stay the night and she agreed, also a bit shook up by the day's events. The sheep were coralled with the alpacas and llamas. Daisy knew that Alpacas would keep the sheep safe from cayotes. As entered the house, a pack of puppies spilled out to greet them.

Irene giggled and lay down on the floor where she was soon covered in puppies. Queenie watched from the kitchen table, annoyed at the fuss while Molly came over to lick Daisy's hand. She let them all out and waited until they had done their business. She would have to build them a dog house soon. If they were as big as their mama, then there was no way she could keep them in her house.

As the girls took a dip in the onsen, Irene gasped at the bruises on Daisy's upper arms from where she had been grabbed. Daisy shuddered despite the hot water and scrubbed at the bruises till her skin glowed pink.

"I'm not going to let them get to me." She said it fiercely but Irene couldn't help but wonder.

"Don't be afraid to ask for help Daisy. What those men did tonight was wrong. We know it, and they know it. But this is our Town and we help our own." She scootched over in the water and hugged Daisy.

"I Know. I just. I'm used to doing things myself. And I don't know what to do about this."

"We'll see. Maybe they'll back off now that you've told them what for."

"Yeah, but they don't seem much the type to back off when told no."

"We'll keep an eye out. Don't you worry."

"What do you think?"

"They're good." Aron said munching on a mushroom. "This'll be great in a salad."

"They're not as good as the mountain ones though." Alice munched on a piece.

"The mountain ones?"

"Oh yeah, they're great." Alice disappeared with a pop.

"She's gone to get some." Aaron said getting another mushroom from the basket.

"Why are the mountain ones so great?"

I don't know. They're just yummy and delicious."

You think I could grow ones like the mountain ones?" She asked nibbling on a slice.

"Sure you could. If you could.. I dunno get these ones to taste like the mountain ones and be the size of yours that would be great. I've even found some super rare ones. Lets see... of the mountain ones, there's the trumpet and the shimeji and shitake and coral and erm... common and erm... poison ones.

"You wouldn't eat the poison ones of course but you can make good animal medicine out of them."

Daisy got up and walked to her bookshelf. There were already too many books for the shelf, and had begun spilling over in neat pyramids onto every available surface.

"Do you need more bookshelves? I can make you more bookshelves?" He concentrated hard, and clapped his hands together. A clap of thunder rocked the house and Aaron fell off the table.

"Ow... maybe I shouldn't have done that inside. But yay, one of the bedrooms upstairs is a library now." He grinned and helped himself to another mushroom.

"What other magic can you do Aaron?"

"Oh we can do lots of stuff. What do you need?"

"Well I was wondering about the orchard."

"oh yeah, thats looking great."

"It is, and I can't wait for that, but it'll be five to ten years before I can expect them to be grown and bearing fruit. Is there any way for you to make em bear fruit early?"

"Oh no, you don't want them doing that." Aaron said scratching his head in thought.

"Why not?" She poured the elf a glass of milk in an egg cup.

"Well," he slurped the cup noisily leaving a milk mustache on his upper lip. "The root structure wouldn't be developed would it? You'd have trees bearing fruit and wasting energy they should be putting in developing good strong roots."

"That makes sense I guess. I suppose I shouldn't be so impatient. I just get so excited about all those trees."

"I could age them."

"Huh?"

"Age them. I could help them grow bigger and stronger in a short amount of time."

"How would that work?"

Just then Alice reappeared with a pop, carrying some mushrooms in a human sized handkerchief.

"Whew. That took a while."

She smacked Aaron's hand as he reached for one. "Don't! I got these for Daisy."

She turned her attention back to the human. "Don't eat the purple one, its poison. But theres a few of each here, so you can taste em. Maybe find a way to grow em."

Daisy laid the book she had been searching for on the table and flipped through it.

"Oh I knew there was something in here. Look, I bought this book at the bazaar. It contains some farm equipment blueprints and machines. This machine makes seeds you see. So if I find a way to make mushrooms seeds with these good mushrooms and get them to be the size of my mushrooms, that would be perfect."

"It'd be a slow process. You'd have to make the seeds, then grow the mushrooms and improve em then make seeds of the improved mushrooms and grow those, but it could be done. But isn't this expensive?"

"yeah but look, there's a whole set of machine. This one can make cheese ouf of milk and stuff, this one makes seeds, this other one is for yarn and wool and this last one makes medicines and perfumes, theres even a fifth one for making flour and stuff."

"Tell her about what we were talking about." Aaron said patting his fat belly.

"Oh, yes, Aaron said he could age the orchard trees."

"Age the trees? Why would you tell her that!" Alice said folding her arms, annoyed.

"Well we could."

"Not right now, that would need some help and she's sleeping."

Daisy looked confused. "Wait, who's sleeping."

"The harvest goddess. She's been asleep for a long time. The river is named after her." Alice explained.

"Oh you know what you should do! You should visit the shrine. I think she'd like that."

"How would she even get up there? Its so overgrown?"

"It was just an idea."

"I'd like to visit the shrine. Where is it?"

"Well, you head toward bluebell from your farm entrance, and about two miles up there's a small path. You would barely be able to see it. There used to be shrine markers but I think they've just worn down over time."

"If you got her help, I'm sure we'd be able to age your trees for you. We'd only be able to age them maybe once a week. And you'd need a lot of fertalizer and tree vitamins for that. The ground has to have water and everything."

"Absolutely. I'll see to it that you have everything you need. Just you leave it to me."

Daisy wiped the sweat from her brow. This was not easy going. It had taken the better half of three hours to get halfway to the shrine. That was not including the time it took her to actually find the path. The elves had been right, and the markers had long ago fallen prey to weather and misfortune. Nevertheless she stayed on the path once she had found it, clearing large swaths of forest with her special sickle and occasionally the fallen tree with her elf made axe.

It was another two hours of steady clearing before she reached the top. The shrine itself was not very large. All in all it was just a one room hut with tatami mats. A statue of the Goddess stood inside, weathered with age. To her left was a metal construction depicting a waterfall decorated with long dead tea candles. To her right was a metal tree also decorated with candles. The floorboards creaked as she went inside and a layer of dust lay below while cobwebs clung to the ceiling.

While there wasn't much she could do right now about the shrine, Daisy spent the rest of the afternoon clearing the area around the shrine of the forest that had begun to overwhelm it. She discovered That the shrine itself was at the center of Four circles of stone. The steps to the shrine came up from the north south east and west, and each direction of the map was marked with two stone statues.

The northern ones were lions, who watched travelers coming up the stairs to the shrine. Those guarding the southern steps were Eagles with spread wings and fierce beaks. To the east Were two foxes and the west two bears. It took Daisy a long tome to clear the trees and bushes away from the stone wardens. The quarter circles in between the statues however were only bordered by stone.

"They were made to be gardens." Daisy realized after inspecting them.

"Oh you found it." Aaron and Alice appeared with two loud pops.

"Yes, the quarter circles between stairs are meant to be seasonal gardens. The closest ring to the shrine are flowers, for the birds and the bees. The second circle is for the smaller animals, vegitables and ground food. The third ring is for bigger animals, bushes and shrubs. The final circle is supposed to be of trees, to feed followers of the goddess."

"Thats so interesting," Daisy said. "And each quarter circle is divided by flowers fruit etc of that season?"

"Yup."

"Well what about winter?"

"Even winter has its treasures."

Daisy took a swig of water from her canteen. It was so beautiful up here. The whole valley lay open to her. She could see the village close by and on the other side far away were the rooftops of Bluebell Village. She could almost imagine she could see the ocean from here. The wind blew lazily by and the sweet summer sun watched them contentedly.

Daisy returned the next day, to clear out the cobwebs and the dust. She shone the candle holders and swept the floors. She cleared out the weeds from the circles and scraped old paint from the shrine. The following week after the rains cleared, she replaced and varnished the floorboards, sanded the beams and cleaned the statue. A large immobile bell at the top of the shrine was scrubbed until it sparkled.

The week after THAT, she replaced the roof and painted the shrine, returning the following day to plant some flowers and vegitables. It took nearly a month before she was able to come back with some sapplings to plant in the last circle. She replaced all the candles, and repaired the stone steps leading to the shrine as well as the two entrance markers, two stone fish.

It was when she was bringing the new gate posts and sign up from here farm that she met someone on the way. Mr White tipped his hat to her and behind him, also on horseback two rather thuggish gentlemen looked on.

"Why Miss Flowers. Ravishing as always." One of the men leered at her.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Oh I'm not here to see you. Though I'm still waiting on a reasonable response to my request."

"What business do you have in Echo?"

"Well Im sure you'll find out shortly, but some old debts need paying up. I'm here to collect." He tipped his hat again and pushed past her. The toothless henchement kissed the air at her as he passed.

As she pondered the ominous thought, Daisy finished the sign for the shrine and stood back. It had taken a long while to finish up this much work, but it was definitely worth it. She headed up to the shrine and lit some candles for the harvest goddess with a prayer. A wind came in off the north and the trees on the mountain rustled before settling back into silence. She then returned to her ranch.

As she walked in the door, the phone was ringing and she hurried to pick it up.

"Daisy! Where have you been!" Daisy glanced down to see seven voice messages on her machine.

"Irene, whats going on?"

"You have to get to town. That dirty old man wants to foreclose on Hannah's shop. She says she can't pay him. Its the one from the bazaar!" Daisy hung up and got what money she had saved before resaddling Dorothy, flying across the bridges and toward town.

As Daisy came upon the general store, there was already a crowd gathered. Dunny was redfaced and angry, but held back by Mr White's two goons. Irene met her there and explained quickly.

"She owes him a ten thousand credit payment but she says the store hasn't been making enough money for her to pay that." Hannah was sobbing into Emma's arms, the old woman barely had the strength to say boo.

"Mr White, you can't just close her store."

"Miss Flowers, fancy seeing you here. Yes unfortunately all manner of people are in need of my assistance in this area. Such a pity, but business is business and I am a business man. Now of course, if we have have business to discuss, I'd be happy to hear it?"

It struck Daisy quite suddenly how this might not be such a coincidence after all.

"Let me get this straight. Hannah owes you ten thousand?"

"That is correct, but if you are willing to take that debt on for her, I know you have debts of your own after all, we might come to an arrangement?"

"An arrangement?" Daisy asked, afraid. He slung his arm around her shoulders and steered her away from the crowd.

"While I'm quite taken with your farm Miss flowers. I have a new hankerin' these days."

"And what is that Mr White? You going to take up and run the general store?"

He barked a laugh in her ear and his not so pleasant breath wafted at her.

"No no dear girl. I want a wife."

"And I'm sure theres a fine woman for you out there somewhere."

"Miss Flowers you wound me." he took off his hat and placed it above his heart.

"It is your garden I want to tend to. " He took her by the arms and breathed in the scent of her hair from behind. "It is your flower that I want to smell. Your field I want to plough."

"GET OFF OF HER." Rod's voice drifted over to them and one of the goons holding on to Dunny moved to intercept this new threat. Rod punched him to get to where MR White was holding her arms. She could feel his fingers digging into her bruises. The goon straigtened up and punched Rod so hard he flew back and as he drew back a fist to punch him again, Irene grabbed his wrist.

"Stop it."

"Get back little girl unless you want some too."

Irene said nothing but tightened her blacksmiths grip until there was an audible crack and the hoodlum screamed in pain. The second thug moved over to her but Daisy stopped them.

"ENOUGH!"

"Why Miss Daisy. Are you going to consent to be my wife?" Mr White bore the smirk of someone who thought he had won. Thought.

"I have a better idea." Daisy said moving back to where Dorothy was saddle. She removed a large purse and brought it over to Hannah.

"Hey Hannah, you remember that money I owed you?" Hanna stared at her with tear streaked eyes. "Remember I said I'd pay you back as soon as I was able? Well here you go."

"What..." Hannah still didn't seem to get it so Dunny spoke up.

"Well there you have your money. You have no more business here."

Mr White looked livid for a moment but then abruptly chuckled and took the purse.

"You've bought yourself some time. But I will return." He nodded at his henchmen, and mounted his horse, riding into the night.

Daisy frowned as they left, deep in thought. Behind her, Irene tended to Rod cooing at his bravery.

"Dunny get Hannah some tea. The rest of you. Town Meeting at Dunny's house noon tomorrow. Spread the news." The town people nodded and began to disperse. Daisy Went to the general store where Dunny started making Hannah some chamomile tea.

"I'll give Koby a call. Do you have his number?" Dunny said about Hannah's husband. She directed him to the phone number but sat clutching the mug of tea.

"Hannah we need to talk," Daisy said sitting down in front of her.


End file.
